A Beautiful Day...

... for digging a hole!

One of the great things about the place I've moved to is that the back yard is just lawn. It is a blank canvas just waiting to have plants put into it and I am so excited about trying to garden in Victoria this year!

So today, I got out my shovel and started digging out a flower bed. It's in a corner of the yard where the fence is the highest. My plans are to turn it into a shade garden. I think it will be a mix of perennials and some annuals. I might add a shrub or two but I want it to have mostly perennials: some hostas and ostrich ferns and definitely some plants that I've never tried before.
I won't have as many weather-related challenges here in Victoria as I did on the prairies, and I'm going to be able to try out plants that are new to me; so basically anything higher than a zone 3. I guess a trip to a garden centre is in order!

The weather today was absolutely amazing. I hear that the prairie provinces still have snow but that is definitely not the case here in Victoria. The sun was shining and the temperature was close to 20oC. People were out mowing their lawns and the mail carrier was wearing shorts... AND I had the gardening bug! What a great day :)

Curling!

Yesterday evening, I tried out the sport of curling for the very first time. I think the sport gets a bad rap because it isn't exactly fast-paced but boy oh boy is it ever fun to play! I didn't get any pictures of myself playing, but my teammates all look like they're having fun.

First, I had to figure out how to keep my balance on some incredibly slippery ice (there's a machine that sprinkles a layer of water droplets on top which makes it even more slippery than the ice you might find in a parking lot or ice arena)!

After that, I tried to throw a 42 pound rock across the ice. The most confusing thing for me was figuring out which way to point my thumb and which way to rotate the rock when I was throwing to get a curve across the ice. I did get it in the end.

Sweeping, I'm sorry to say, came to me fairly naturally but I didn't realize how HARD you have to scrub the ice sometimes to get that stone to move! It's quite a work out!

The best thing is that while you are doing all this, you are on a team and socializing with people the whole time. I think it is a great way to get out of the house, get a little bit of exercise and a good way to meet people too. I definitely want to give it a try again sometime!

Some Thoughts on Working/Shopping at American Companies

The other day at work, a colleague and myself were given the task of "cleaning" one of the rooms at work. It wasn't a great experience.

I put "cleaning" in quotations because according to this business, "cleaning" means that we had to make sure that all supplies in the room were according to company policy. Basically, some people in Texas have decided what supplies should be in that particular room. What happens to all the items that aren't on the company-assigned list? It gets thrown in the dumpster. That's right- straight into the trash.

This is where my sense of good morals start to kick in. All of the supplies in this room were, at one point, assigned to that space by the company because of various projects done there. Any left over materials were kept for future use. But now, we are throwing them out.

These items are in great condition and some of them are even brand new! It pained me and my colleague to throw these things out. We asked if we could donate some items to schools or other charities. The answer we got was, "No."

Someone had told me it was because this is an American company. In the USA, items cannot be donated because if a person harms themselves with a donated item, then the person who donated the item is liable to be sued. In order to prevent this, companies simply throw items out and make it their policy. In many American chains, such as the one I am working at, policies are kept the same across the border.

It has really made me think twice about working and shopping at American companies.

Some Sad News

I know it's been a little while since I posted. It's been rather crazy around here with work, moving, company, getting internet, etc. I think everyone can relate to how life can seem to just get away from you and fly, but sometimes the reality of life comes back and knocks us to our senses and makes us realize how fragile it really is.

I received some sad news that a fellow coworker from the garden center that I worked at last spring passed away from a brain aneurysm. She had worked there for many years and in a family-run business, all of the staff were like extended family and quite close.

She was one of the healthiest people we knew. She exercised every morning, always brought a home-cooked lunch (which always included a glass of banana-milk which we thought was weird) and always brushed her teeth after every meal. We used to tease her about bringing her toothbrush to work.

To me she was a fellow crafter and lover of music and a good teacher as well. We would have crafting nights and she make embroidered cards. At the store we would play 'name that tune' and dance around to whatever was on the radio. Most of what I know about growing veggies, I learned from her. She was always in good mood and we shared a lot of laughs.

I remember that just before I moved, I went to the store for something. I don't even remember what I had to go for but I was looking for the store manager. The store was quite empty and instead of finding Gail, I found Deb in the stock room. I chatted with her and said goodbye not realizing it was for the last time. Now I'm glad I had the opportunity to say bye.

Deb you will be sorely missed by all of us xx

January's Half Over?

Time has been flying by and I can't believe it's the 17th of January already. It's ridiculous!

I hope everyone's Christmas holidays were jolly and I hope that normal life has returned too. I, personally, am breathing a sigh of relief for life with some normalcy to it! Over Christmas I was busy moving house, pet sitting and house sitting, visiting with international company, skiing and working. I was quite tired so I don't know how you moms with kids do it. You are AMAZING!

Anyways, I wanted to share a couple of photos from something we did New Year's Eve. We went to the Butchart Gardens to see their "12 Days of Christmas" display. It was my first time going there and true to the rumours, it was absolutely gorgeous. The Christmas lights were so tasteful! No gaudy Christmas here (unlike the neighbourhood on my street!).

Gorgeous Walkway

Three French Hens

Merry Christmas

7 Rules

I got this off of Etsy a few weeks ago. I particularly like #5.


1) Get out of your comfort zone

2) Embrace the sleepless nights

3) Speak the language of the person you want to become

4) Find a mantra to anchor and guide you

5) Always stay guided by your values and not your necessities

6) To achieve unreasonable things, you have to become an unreasonable person

7) Become hopelessly idealistic about the things that make you feel most alive

~ Adam Braun, PencilsofPromise.org